Rebirth of the Industrial Tycoon

In Xiangyang Town, the reconstruction of the electric furnace factory has begun.

Once the funds are in place, rebuilding the electric furnace plant is not difficult. In 1988, it was not popular for migrant workers to go to the cities to work. There were a lot of surplus labor in the countryside. During the slack farming time, they paid a dollar a day for a meal, and some migrant workers rushed to work.

The construction site was in full swing. Although there was no construction machinery, and even the cement was labor-intensive, the progress of the project was not delayed at all.

At noon, stewed vermicelli with pork and cabbage is the only dish, which is filled with pork fat with white flowers, which is shiny and shiny. The rice is white flour steamed buns, and there is no limit, you can eat as much as you want.

For the migrant workers at that time, this was already a top lunch. A bowl of stewed noodles with pork and cabbage, dipped in steamed buns, bite down, and the mouth is full of oil and water, you can be greedy!

There were steamed buns with white flour in the big bamboo basket, and a simple and honest man in his forties was directing the meal.

Li Weidong walked over, handed a whole box of cigarettes to the simple and honest man's hand, and said, "Director Ma, is it alright today?"

"Director Li, how many times have I said it, don't call me the manager of the horse factory, you can just call me an old horse." The man said.

"Okay, old horse!" Li Weidong pointed to the big blue bird in the distance, and then said, "I brought you something, put it in the car, go and get it together!"

The old horse's name is Ma Zhongyi, the former director of the Xiangyang Town Electric Furnace Factory. After the electric furnace factory suffered a fire, the entire factory disappeared, and Ma Zhongyi lost his qualifications as factory director.

Now that Li Weidong wants to rebuild the electric furnace factory, he naturally needs a person who is familiar with the environment, so Li Weidong invited Ma Zhongyi back to work as a supervisor at the construction site.

Ma Zhongyi can be regarded as a local snake in Xiangyang Town, not only in Xiangyang Town, but also in various villages under Xiangyang Town.

Take the rebuilding of the electric furnace factory, Ma Zhongyi can call the 100th migrant workers casually, so it is most appropriate to leave the rebuilding of the electric furnace factory to Ma Zhongyi.

Li Weidong called Ma Zhongyi to the front of the car, took out a box of white wine from the trunk, and said, "Old Ma, take this wine back and drink it."

"Director Li, this is impossible, how can I ask for something from you!" Ma Zhongyi shook his head.

"You look at the construction site all day, and it's very hard,

Take this wine back and drink a few glasses at night to relieve fatigue. "Li Weidong said.

"It's right for me to stay on the construction site, I'm not afraid of hard work!" Ma Zhongyi sighed: "This electric furnace factory was caught in a fire, and I, the factory manager, are also responsible. The town did not pursue my fault. Thank goodness. But the jobs of the more than 200 workers in the factory are ruined! Now I am thinking about rebuilding the electric furnace factory as soon as possible, so that the more than 200 workers can have jobs and not go home to farm ."

"Old Ma, you have to take it easy, don't get tired, and when the factory is rebuilt, I have to count on you to be my deputy factory manager!" Li Weidong smiled and then said: "Actually, this is the case. , I have to go to a distant place in the past two days, at least it will take more than ten days to come back, during the time when I am not here, the electric furnace factory will hand over to you."

"Director Li, don't worry, I'm here every day to ensure that the project can be completed with quality and quantity! Maybe when you come back, the factory building has already been built." Ma Zhongyi said.

Li Weidong handed a briefcase to Ma Zhongyi's hand, and said, "Old Ma, there is 30,000 yuan in it, you can put it away first, if you need money on the construction site, use it first. this money."

"I dare not take so much money." Ma Zhongyi refused.

"Old Ma, I gave you this money because I can trust you. Besides, it took me ten days and a half months to go out for this trip. If there is money to be used, you can also use the money in an emergency, so as not to delay. The progress of the project." Li Weidong said.

Ma Zhongyi hesitated for a while, but finally took the briefcase: "Well, I'll take this money first, don't worry, I'll never spend this money indiscriminately, and I'll reimburse you when you come back!"

Li Weidong didn't really trust Ma Zhongyi. He gave the money to Ma Zhongyi because he was temporarily unavailable, but he wanted to use the 30,000 yuan to test whether Ma Zhongyi was trustworthy.

Now Li Weidong is about to start his own career, and he also needs to build his own team. Ma Zhongyi is a good candidate.

As the former director of the electric furnace factory, Ma Zhongyi has experience in managing enterprises, and he is also a local snake in Xiangyang Town. For Li Weidong at this stage, Ma Zhongyi is a suitable person to set up a team.

After handing over the construction site to Ma Zhongyi, Li Weidong went home to pack his luggage.

Li Weidong does have to travel far, and his destination is Hong Kong Island.

With the invitation letter from Chen Jiade, Li Weidong's entry procedures went smoothly. Next, Li Weidong plans to go to Hong Kong Island to register the patent of the air fryer.

Li Weidong did not choose to enter Hong Kong Island by land, but booked a direct flight from East Island to Hong Kong Island.

Because if you enter Hong Kong Island by land, you must go through the special zone. In that era, you had to apply for a pass to enter the special zone. For Li Weidong, it was not as convenient as a direct flight.

At that time, a direct flight from the mainland to Hong Kong Island was also hard to come by. Li Weidong found a relationship with the Foreign Economic and Trade Office before he bought a ticket to Hong Kong Island.

In the late 1980s, China's main aircraft for international routes was the McDonnell Douglas 82, and the Airbus A300 was rare. At this time, Air China's free Moutai has also been cancelled, so Li Weidong did not drink Moutai, but ate a few pieces of dark chocolate on the plane. The cocoa taste is very thick and the taste is quite good.

After arriving on Hong Kong Island, Li Weidong did not go to find a place to live, nor did he go to the Donald Law Firm. Instead, he called a taxi and went straight to Fuji Bank.

Li Weidong only carried a few hundred dollars in foreign exchange, which was exchanged from the black market. After all, in 1988, it was quite difficult to get some foreign exchange.

This amount of money is not enough to spend, so Li Weidong first went to Fuji Bank to convert the 15 million yen into Hong Kong dollars.

The 10 million yen that Li Weidong mortgaged to the bank had already been redeemed by him.

Today's clothing is an export earning enterprise. If you want a loan, you don't need a mortgage at all. Just by being an export earning enterprise, you can borrow millions of RMB.

Of the 25 million yen defrauded from Tianfeng that year, 10 million of which was taken by Li Weidong to buy an imported knitting machine, and the remaining 15 million yen has also been appreciating. In 1988, 1 US dollar could be exchanged for more than 120 yen, and Li Weidong's 15 million yen could also be exchanged for more than 120,000 US dollars.

The Hong Kong dollar is closely pegged to the US dollar exchange rate. The fluctuation range of one US dollar to Hong Kong dollar is 7.75 to 7.85. If calculated according to the middle price of 7.80, Li Weidong's 15 million yen can be exchanged for 950,000 Hong Kong dollars.

For Hong Kong people at that time, 950,000 Hong Kong dollars was also a huge sum of money. In 1988, the per capita monthly income of Hong Kong Island was more than 3,000 Hong Kong dollars. For ordinary people, millionaires were out of reach.

With more than 900,000 Hong Kong dollars, Li Weidong felt that his waist was much straighter. He called a taxi and said in half-baked Cantonese: "Go to the Regent Hotel."

In the previous life, Li Weidong traveled all over the country to do business, and he could understand some dialects in various places. For example, Cantonese, as long as the other party does not speak too fast, Li Weidong can understand it, but it is a bit troublesome to speak.

For the vast majority of northerners, it is not easy to master Cantonese, and the pronunciation is probably like the phrase "I am a scumbag, I am a brother, come to bite me".

The taxi driver started the car and chatted on the walkie-talkie while driving.

"See you in the ice room later..."

"Wait until the shift is over..."

"I pulled a cousin in the car, let's stop talking..."

The driver's voice was not loud, and he spoke very fast. Li Weidong could only understand a few words intermittently.

Moments later, the driver parked the car in a cluttered downtown area.

"Here! Fifteen and a half!" The driver turned around and asked for money.

Li Weidong looked out the window and felt that the Regent Hotel should not be in such a messy area.

"Which direction is the Regent Hotel?" Li Weidong asked in unfamiliar Cantonese.

"It's there!" The driver pointed to the curb.

Li Weidong looked in the direction the driver was pointing. First, he saw a roadside shop selling dry goods. There was red paper with half-price ginseng sticking on the wall. Next to it was a corridor. On the corridor was a dilapidated sign that read " Lijing Hotel, please go to the second floor".

"Why does this place look like a big health care place!" Li Weidong looked at the driver awkwardly, and then said, "Have you gone to the wrong place? This doesn't seem to be the Regent Hotel."

"Yes, many of your cousins ​​from the mainland live here," the driver said.

In the 1980s, Hong Kong people liked to call mainlanders "cousin", and this title naturally carried some sense of ridicule, rejection, and some fear. And many "cousins" are really indiscreet and always find some special places to try local products.

Li Weidong looked helpless, he took out a hundred Hong Kong dollars from his wallet, handed it to the driver, and then said: "I am going to the Regent Hotel, not the Regent Hotel, the five-star one, and the rest is yours. tip!"

The driver saw a hundred Hong Kong dollars, and his eyes suddenly gleamed. He took the Hong Kong dollar and stretched out a big finger: "Cousin, how are you!"

...

The next day, Li Weidong came to Donald Law Firm.

With the experience of taking a taxi, Li Weidong simply stopped showing his half-baked Cantonese. After all, as soon as he spoke this half-baked Cantonese, people knew that he was from the mainland, and they might make some jokes.

When he came to the front desk of Donald Law Firm, Li Weidong said directly in English, "I'm looking for Mr. Zheng."

The young lady at the front desk was stunned for a moment, as if she had heard something inexplicable, and then he confirmed in English, "Sir, are you looking for Libby?"

"I don't know his English name, I only know his Chinese name is Zheng Jianan." Li Weidong said, and took out the note written by Chen Jiade.

The lady at the front desk confirmed her name and asked, "Sir, what should I call you?"

"My surname is Li." Li Weidong replied.

The lady at the front desk picked up the phone, dialed a number, and said, "Libby, there is a Mr. Li looking for you."

The lady at the front desk whispered a few more words before putting down the phone, smiled politely at Li Weidong, and said in English, "Sir, please come with me."

Li Weidong followed the lady at the front desk, walked to a piece of office money, and knocked on the door.

"Come in." A woman's voice sounded from inside the room.

The lady at the front desk pushed in the door and said, "Libby, this gentleman wants to see you."

Li Weidong also walked into the room and saw a mixed-race beauty sitting behind the desk!

Li Weidong instantly realized that he seemed to have made an oolong.

"Look at how unlucky I am, I thought that speaking English would be smoother, but it turned out to be a joke, and said that I was looking for Mr. Zheng, but Zheng Jianan is actually a woman!"